Agency assessment teams view storm damage

05/04/2018

Preliminary numbers show
82 Bossier Parish residences and businesses received some degree of damage when
severe storms that included at least one tornado blew through Bossier Parish on
Saturday evening, April 14.

Those figures were
released following an assessment tour of stricken areas this week by inspection
teams from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Small Business
Administration (SBA) and the Governors Office of Homeland Security &
Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP).

Structures
receiving damage that meets criteria of the agencies include:

* 57 single family homes; 22 considered affected,
29 minor, six major and none destroyed.

* 13 businesses with minor damage; most insured.
Businesses not insured not damaged over one-half of assessed value.

Director of the
Bossier Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness Ian Snellgrove said
FEMA requirements for individual assistance (IA) has different criteria than
SBA.

“FEMA figures will be
given to GOHSEP as well as the SBA figure so they can determine if the governor
can ask for any assistance through the SBA or IA program,” Snellgrove
explained.

“The way it is looking
now the only way any of our residents will be eligible to apply for SBA loans
is if we are included in what is called contiguous with another damaged area of
the same storm that does qualify, like if Caddo Parish was to receive funding,”
he said.

“(Bossier Parish)
currently does not meet the damage needed for SBA loans,” he added.

Residents
will be informed as soon as information is available or if approval for funding
is made available from FEMA, SBA or GOHSEP, Snellgrove said.